


Game, Set, Match, Repeat

by Anna_banana



Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Tennis, Danny Ric and Lewis' quesitonable fashion choices, Doubles Players, Hair Dye, Lots of Other Mentions, M/M, Mens doubles, Tennis, The Championships Wimbledon, grand slam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:41:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24876343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anna_banana/pseuds/Anna_banana
Summary: Lewis is one of the best tennis players in the world. After recovering from injury, he asks Valtteri to be his doubles partner at Wimbledon. Valtteri can't say no to the opportunity.
Relationships: Valtteri Bottas/Lewis Hamilton
Comments: 10
Kudos: 35





	Game, Set, Match, Repeat

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Historygeek12](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Historygeek12/gifts).



> For a prompt requesting some Valewis (which kind of got out of hand, oops), it seems so long since I've written them so I hope you enjoy! <3

Lewis is ready to come back, more than ready even, he wouldn’t be competing if that wasn’t the case, certainly he wouldn’t be competing somewhere like Wimbledon if he wasn’t fully recovered. Lewis is entirely healed now, and when Lewis is fit and injury free, he feels absolutely unstoppable.

{}

In the run up to Wimbledon, Valtteri’s manager receives a phone call. This one phone call could change the entire course of the event for him, the course of his career even, if things work out well.

Lewis Hamilton is one of the best tennis players in the world, with multiple grand slams under his belt. For singles, he is part of the big four, rivalled only by Federer, Djokovic and Nadal. Lewis is the kind of doubles partner you would dream of pairing up with. He’s fast, relentless, able to move quickly around the court and look like he could continue all day if he had to. Despite not being the tallest of players, Lewis still has an incredibly powerful serve, or he definitely used to anyway, before he got injured. 

The recovery from Lewis’ shoulder injury, the surgery, the PT, has been long and gruelling. Since then, he hasn’t played a single big tournament and his results at the smaller tournaments have been patchy. Equally, Lewis is a massive name in the sport, a massive talent, even if he isn’t at 100% playing with him would still be an amazing opportunity. An opportunity for sponsorship, for a win, for the exposure of the sport of doubles tennis as well.

Valtteri’s manager mentions his concerns that Lewis insists on playing on the right side of the court, meaning Valtteri will have to switch to the left. Valtteri wonders what kind of tennis player he would have to be, to not be capable of handling the other side of the court. What it means people must think of him as a player. Valtteri tells his manager to set up some hitting practice between the two of them. He already knows that he’s going to accept.

As soon as Valtteri sets the meeting up he realises that he’s going to have to break the news to his doubles partner before someone else does. The guy who’s helped him win 3 grand slams and multiple smaller tournaments. Lance takes it well considering, he simply calls him an idiot and says that he’s going to make it further than he is at Wimbledon. Valtteri is glad that their friendship is intact, knows that they will continue to work together in the future, but hopes Lance is wrong about the other part.

Their first hitting session goes about as well as Valtteri expected. They don’t talk much before playing, it’s always better that these things come afterwards. Valtteri is relieved to find that they can predict each others movements instinctively. It’s not necessarily easy or quick, those things come with practice but the automatic connection is a must if you want to have any chance of playing well together.

Valtteri finds that his play is relaxed and comfortable but he is missing some of his usual accuracy. He tells himself it’s just nerves and nothing to do with the side of the court he is on. Lewis’ style is brilliant and from his hits you would think he was as fit as ever. Valtteri takes note of the slight sheen of sweat on Lewis’ brow, despite the fact they haven’t been playing for long at all. He pays attention to the water breaks, the time Lewis allots himself to roll his shoulder with a grimace. 

Today is for playing tennis, today isn’t for talking, but Valtteri can already tell that their partnership is either going to be a huge success or a massive disaster. The pair get dressed back into normal clothing in the changing room. Valtteri has to avert his gaze from Lewis’ figure and he can’t help wondering whether or not he’s made an enormous mistake.

When Wimbledon starts, Valtteri feels ready. His individual build up has been going well, the times that him and Lewis have been training together have been going well to. It will take some proper match play to help them truly sync up but they are already beginning to understand how the other moves and thinks. Valtteri’s singles is lined with difficult matches from the get go but at least their early doubles matches should theoretically be easy wins. 

Valtteri feels ready, but he’s also fully aware that anything can happen. Lots of things could go in their favour, as many, if not more could end up going wrong.

The first couple of days are reserved for the first round of singles. Valtteri wins his first match but it takes four sets, one more set than it rightly should have done. It’s no big disaster, after the second set he was winning comfortably but it’s early on in the tournament to be using more energy than necessary and eating into recovery time. 

Next it’s the second round of singles, a round that many would bet on his losing based on the calibre of player he’s against. Valtteri gets through against the Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne, but only because of an injury causing the Frenchman to withdraw from the match around half way through the second set. 

Valtteri is relieved to have lost some playing hours on this match that he gained in his first round match up. While Valtteri knows it’s a good thing he has a free day in between this match and the first match of doubles, he can’t help but feel jittery, already raring to play once more. The singles matches he’s been playing have been good, his and Lewis’ doubles practice on the other hand has been spectacular.

{}

Even though there’s few things more iconic to the fans than a successful Brit at Wimbledon, it’s always weird to see Lewis here. The white suits him, it suits him a lot really, especially with the sparkling grin he can hardly wipe off his face, making sure to mention the ‘best fans,’ in every interview. The reason it’s strange is that he is normally head to toe in colour. While his clothing isn’t quite Aussie Danny Ric eccentric, Lewis does always wear his own design tennis brand which is certainly more stylish and modern than the limited clothing choices here at Wimbledon. Wearing all white is a tradition, the debates over what it is acceptable for women to wear playing tennis are simply outdated, another one of Lewis’ interview staples, standing firmly with the likes of Serena Williams and many others in the sport. 

“I was thinking of getting some wild colours in my braids, push the edges of the rules a bit” Lewis comments idly as they get ready in the changing room for their match.

“But my management convinced me to do it when I’m in a singles grand slam match again, so there’s no risk of getting anyone else in trouble.”

He smirks at Valtteri after he says it, as though he would have done it anyway, if it wasn’t for the fact Valtteri strikes people as the kind of person who has never gotten in trouble for anything in his life. 

That assessment probably wouldn’t be too far from the truth to be fair.

After a moment, Valtteri replies.

“If we win this tournament I’ll dye my hair pink for the next grand slam.”

Lewis lets out a loud, surprised sounding laugh at the joke, as though he wasn’t expecting to hear one. While Valtteri is funny in a sarcastic and self deprecating kind of way, he rarely makes actual jokes, especially not while training or competing.

“Hot pink?” 

Lewis asks the question once his laughter has died down but there’s still a massive grin on his face.

“Hot pink,” Valtteri confirms with a nod. 

“Well, let’s go win this one first,” Lewis says cheerfully.

Nothing more needs to be said and soon afterwards, it’s time to head to the court.

{}

It’s important not to think about these things during a match, but afterwards, Valtteri can’t help thinking about how odd it was to be on a main court so soon in the tournament. There’s not a lot of doubles matches on the main courts so soon in the tournament and for singles, he would normally be on a smaller court. The only exception to that rule is when playing against one of the bigger players like Fedderer although that’s a lot different. You’re not likely to stay on the court for very long and almost none of the cheering is directed towards you. 

Valtteri does everything he can during the match to block out the noise, to block out his own thoughts, but afterwards is always a different matter entirely. After this match, which they won 7-5, 6-4, 6-3, Valtteri can finally take in the cheers of the crowd. It’s only the first round, really all of the noise and attention is for Lewis, but honestly, Valtteri doesn’t care and he feels like he’s on top of the world.

Before long it’s the following day, day 5 of Wimbledon. Valtteri loses his third round singles match resoundingly and in straight sets. Maybe he’s tired from the day before, maybe he’s not focused, or perhaps the young rising star he was playing against was really just that much better than him. 

He has practice afterwards with Lewis. Valtteri’s expression is schooled and he’s attacking the ball harder and less accurately than he rightly should be. This practice is blessedly quiet, Lewis seems to be able to tell he’s not in the mood to talk and when they go to separate sides of the court he simply hits the ball back as hard as he receives it. 

As they leave, Lewis says he thinks Valtteri will suit pink hair. For a moment Valtteri is confused, forgetting their conversation before the first round match. The memory quickly comes back to him however and he can’t help but let out a laugh, hoping the redness from exertion he normally hates, will hide the growing blush on his cheeks.

“You can dye it if you want?” Valtteri offers.

He cringes as soon as the suggestion leaves his mouth, having no idea why he said it. It’s not as though him and Lewis were friends before they started working together. For the Brit, this will just be a fond memory and another grand slam trophy for his cabinets. 

“We can do a video for Instagram,” Lewis says excitedly, discussing the plan before they part ways.

In that moment Valtteri admires Lewis but also begins to hate him slightly. It’s unbelievably smart of him, it would be great for their press post championship and is the kind of thing that fans love. Equally however, he just wishes that Lewis would admit that he has absolutely no interest in spending any more time with him than he absolutely has to.

{}

Day 6, second round of doubles, they win once more but in four sets this time. 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3. They seemed less in sync with each other this match, but in the early rounds an increase in pace and aggression can more than make up for it. 

It’s only the second round and already Valtteri is beginning to realise how much more interviewing is packed into his schedule in comparison to other slams. He goes to bed early that night, his body has no problems this early on in the tournament but his energy feels drained. Most of the night is spent tossing and turning, mind buzzing and unable to shut down. 

At one point in the night, late enough that it’s actually morning, Valtteri goes online and in a moment of impulse he buys a pink Lewis Hamilton branded cap. He knows full well that his sponsors will get him in trouble for it as soon as it’s worn but at that moment he can’t bring himself to care. As soon as it’s ordered, Valtteri switches his mobile off and is able to fall back into a restless sleep. 

Valtteri wakes up slightly later than normal, having not entered a deep sleep until well into the night. Today is the middle Sunday of Wimbledon and Valtteri has never been so grateful for the allotted break day that separates Wimbledon from the other slams. 

The next day arrives quickly, it’s Monday and the third round of doubles. Today they play against Lance, his former doubles partner and Esteban Ocon, a talented young French player. Apparently Esteban has stopped training in the US and has actually moved his set up over to France, it’s something Valtteri would be interested in asking him about after Wimbledon, if Valtteri was prone to gossiping that is.

Overall he’s looking forward to the match, it’s their first real challenge of an opposing pair but one Valtteri is still fairly confident himself and Lewis can overcome. 

They have first serve. Valtteri glances behind himself at Lewis. As always at the start of a game, Lewis kisses his cross for good luck. Valtteri ducks down, Lewis gets ready to serve and just like that, the match begins. 

It goes as according to plan as a match against tough competitors can really. Everything is mapped out before each round, all of the stats, the strengths and weaknesses of competitors being analysed by coaches. It’s good knowledge to have, even if Valtteri knows Lance’s play inside and out. They serve hard and try whenever possible to make the points short. Against young fit competitors, it’s an especially bad idea to let the play be drawn out. When that doesn’t work, weak backhands are targeted again and again until mistakes are made. 

There are only three sets but they are tiring and hard fought. Valtteri and Lewis take the match 7-5, 7-5, 6-4. They all shake hands at the net. Valtteri and Lance have a quick hug and back pat over it. 

“I wonder how many grand slams they’ll have in a few years time,” Valtteri comments while himself and Lewis are in the changing room.

“A lot I bet, especially if they stick together,” Lewis replies, also mentioning that his manager is currently in contract talks with them both. “But this one is ours,” he continues, confident. 

“This one is ours,” Valtteri agrees. 

He just knows somehow, that if they win this one, a grand slam win will simply never feel the same again.

{}

Two days later and it’s the quarter finals. They are one of the first matches on, playing at 11am sharp. Valtteri sits at his breakfast table and spoons porridge into his mouth with one hand, the other drums on the table, fingers tapping rhythmically. He forces himself to stop the nervous habit and instead uses that hand to grab onto his coffee. Valtteri takes a deep breath. Day 9 of Wimbledon, only 3 more to go for him. 

Valtteri and Lewis face the talented but perpetually raw edged pair of Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen. Their opponents are serving first. As planned, they do their utmost to make sure the return goes in and from there on, they try to draw out the points as much as possible. Also as according to plan, this frustrates Kevin and Romain to no end, causing mistakes to crop up in their aggressive style of play. Valtteri and Lewis take the match, 6-2, 7-5, 6-3. 

It’s onto the semi’s next and this is the part of the tournament where you really begin to feel it in your bones, you are so close to success and yet so far. 

When Valtteri returns to the house his team always rents out for the tournament, he notices that his cap has finally arrived. In a moment of boldness, still elated and filled with adrenaline from the match, Valtteri tries the cap on and sends a photo of the results to Lewis. Moments later, his phone pings and Valtteri is bombarded with an army of laughing emojis. His phone pings again.

_I could have got one of those for you, you know._

Before Valtteri can think of a reply, another message comes through.

_It suits you x_

Valtteri doesn’t know how to respond. Is the text friendly, flirty, is it a joke- like the one he himself was making by buying a hot pink cap in the first place. Maybe Lewis is just being kind and the photo actually has no significance to him at all. Valtteri doesn’t know how to respond, so he leaves the messages on read and switches his phone off. He has recovery to do for the match tomorrow anyway, in fact they both do. 

{}

They have the semifinals on day 10 of Wimbledon. Only four pairings remain. Himself and Lewis are pitted against a solid French pairing- Mahut and Roger-Vasselin. On the other side of the draw, in all likelihood there are only two men in contention. Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikonnen. 

The other match is on first and as predicted Kimi and Sebastian make it through in straight sets, as they have the entire tournament. Valtteri has played against them several times on the doubles circuit. He has bet them before, equally, they have bet him many times. They arguably aren’t the strongest players individually but they are so in sync it’s as though they share a mind, never letting a ball pass through the middle of the court, never hitting their partner with the ball. When they are on form they’re unstoppable, but while himself and Lewis aren’t able to read each other’s minds, Valtteri has a feeling that on form, they could be unstoppable too.

The first semi final was on Court 1 at the start of the day. Lewis and Valtteri’s match is the last of the day. They are on Centre Court and by this point in the tournament it is jammed full from the start of the day until the end. 

Themselves and the French pair are both resolutely holding serve in the first set. Admittedly, Lewis and Valtteri are coasting through their own serves more comfortably but still, despite a few times at advantage, and even more at deuce, they are not able to break the other pair. 6-6 leads to a tiebreak. At the start of the tiebreak, Lewis serves like a man possessed, as though he’s never had a single twinge in his shoulder, never mind any serious injuries. The good start to the tiebreak carries on, it ends quickly at 7-5, which means they take the first set 6-7.

Things go more smoothly after that, until they don’t. It’s time for one of the quick 2 minute breaks, Valtteri sips his water slowly and Lewis, sitting to the right of him, is having some of his energy gel. There’s not a lot of time to physically recover during the breaks but it is a good opportunity to relax. Valtteri closes his eyes, visualises his play and shuts the rest of his brain down as much as is possible. 

Suddenly, Valtteri feels a spray of water hit him, distantly he thinks he hears the crowd gasping. He turns around and as he does so, realises that one of the sprinklers has went off. With no time to think, he simply grabs as much of his stuff as he can and moves it into the dry, getting even more soaked himself in the process. By the time he manages to move everything, someone has managed to turn the water off. He glances over at Lewis, he’s also moved some of his stuff however the Britton’s seat wasn’t as close to the sprinklers as his. They can’t help but grin at each other. The crowd laughs and cheers, amused by the event and the fact that even a major event like Wimbledon isn’t infallible. Valtteri and Lewis keep chuckling at each other as they move their bags and bottles back to the seats. It isn’t until he has stopped moving that Valtteri fully notices exactly how soaked through his top is. The break is over, however the umpire does offer to let him change. Valtteri declines and jokes that he could have done with the cool down anyway. With that, the time for hilarity is over and the match resumes.

They win the set 6-4, and with that the match is close to being there’s. The following set plays out almost identically with another 6-4. When Valtteri and Lewis hug in celebration Lewis grimaces and it’s only then that Valtteri remembers the wet t shirt, now half dried onto his skin. It doesn’t matter because they are both covered in sweat anyway and far too elated to care about any grossness. There is only one more round to go. In two days time they face the final.

The second they get into the changing rooms, Valtteri chucks off his t-shirt. Lewis glances at him which isn’t surprising, Valtteri has always been the kind of guy who doesn’t get ready until he has other stuff laid out for a quick change. Mentally shrugging it off, Valtteri chucks his bag down and begins to rummage through it for clothes, grimacing when he realises that most of it is still soaked through from the sprinklers. Resigning himself to changing yet again as soon as he gets back to the house, he goes to the bottom of the bag for the driest kit he has and begins to get sorted. 

The novelty will have clearly worn off by now but Valtteri can still feel Lewis’ eyes on him. He finds the sensation odd. Not because he minds it, if he’s being honest the complete opposite is true, but because he feels as though he goes to so much effort to hide his own gaze. 

Mostly he’s not sure what to say. Is there anything to be said? And even if there is, they have a final in two days time and as much as a nagging part of his brain argues otherwise, anything else is secondary. Rather than saying anything, Valtteri simply puts on his clothes as quickly as possible, shoves his stuff in his bag, not even fitting it in well enough for the bag to close before leaving (fleeing) the changing room. Lewis begins to speak, but Valtteri is unable to make the words out, the door already closing behind him.  
When he returns home, he feels guilty, although for what he can’t exactly explain, even to himself. Trying to make up for his awkward escape earlier on he sends Lewis a text, hoping that will be enough to make him forget about the incident.

_See you at practice tomorrow. Only two days to go before the trophy! :)_

Lewis replies quickly, but even the couple of minutes it takes feels like hours.

_If we win in straight sets how about an ear piercing?_

Valtteri can’t help but laugh at the joke but more than that, the laughter is also in relief that Lewis is clearly willing to brush his weirdness off and not mention it.

_Fine, but I draw the line at you doing that as well as dyeing my hair. The only person going near me with a needle is a professional._

Lewis sends a bunch of laughing emojis in reply before responding with it’s a deal. 

After that, Valtteri finally feels as though he can relax. He grabs some clothes from his drawer, deciding to have a shower before he changes into something dry. 

Despite the practically scalding temperature of the shower, he still puts his hand on himself, and jerks off quickly, knowing he would be unable to resist and wanting to get the action over and done with, as pleasurable as it may be. Desperately, he tries to block away the thoughts and images that come to his mind. He is entirely unsuccessful at doing so. Almost immediately afterwards, before he even has time to catch his breath, Valtteri moves the temperature dial of the shower to freezing. He lingers with the cold water battering down on him longer than he normally would, treating it like a punishment. The fact he bothered to feel guilt over running away like an idiot seems somewhat ridiculous now, considering what it is he’s just done.

{}

Valtteri wakes up early the next morning feeling well rested, having slept like the dead. The night before he simply ate the dinner that had been pre-made for him before going straight to bed. Exhaustion, built up over the course of the tournament, allowed him to fall asleep quickly despite the unusual hour and even had him sleeping right through to his alarm. Valtteri gets up, has a quick, perfunctory shower and then gets dressed. He prepares porridge, berries and his espresso with the mindlessness of someone who has the same meal almost every morning. After breakfast, he grabs his exercise mat and places it on the floor in the living room.

While he always does some stretching first thing, Valtteri decides to do a bit more than normal and go through a gentle yoga routine. He finds that some of the yoga exercises calm his mind and relax his body better than any other alternative he could think of. While he would struggle to actually recite what exercises he does, muscle memory allows him to pay no mind to what he’s doing as he poses, holds and changes position. Once that is done, he’s able to lie down, close his eyes and do some mental visualisation, the yoga having already steadied his breathing. In, and out. And with that, the day can finally begin. 

The practice session is quick and perfunctory, both Lewis’ and Valtteri’s coaches wanting them to be fresh for the final the next day. Between the lack of time and the presence of their coaches they don’t have a lot of time to chat. Their game play feels easy and comfortable however and Valtteri prepares himself to have to buy pink hair dye in the near future.

{}

Despite having a couple of grand slams doubles titles in his back pocket so to speak, Valtteri still always finds the final exciting. Adrenaline and nerves thrum through his veins. When Valtteri was younger he used to think of that energy as a negative thing but now he understands how to channel it. 

Neither of them are extremely ritualistic tennis players but both himself and Lewis have habits before a point begins. If he’s not the one serving, Valtteri has to squeeze the racket in his hands three times before he’s ready to go. When serving, the ball has to be bounced in multiples of three. Whether serving or returning, Lewis simply kisses the cross on his chain and glances up quickly at the sky. 

Even without being required to look straight ahead of him, Valtteri would be able to tell you what his opponents are doing. Sebastian always checks his shoes are tied, he claims it’s not a ritual but simply a precaution caused by a singles match he was playing where one of his shoes flew off during an important point. Kimi claims he doesn’t believe in rituals and unless it’s something he does before or after the match no one has ever been able to prove otherwise. 

They’ve had the warm up, the coin toss, the rituals are completed. The Wimbledon Men’s doubles final can begin. 

To say the first set doesn’t go Lewis and Valtteri’s way is an understatement. Their serve is quickly broken and things don’t go any better from there, they lose the set 6-3. 

As the break between sets is called however Kimi calls for a medic, gesturing vaguely at his leg. Despite his constant cool and calm demeanour during play, Kimi can’t hide the grimace on his face when the set ends, meaning the umpire doesn’t question him any further. Kimi and Sebastian are leading comfortably, there would be no advantage to him requesting the added time of a medical break without good reason. 

Between sips of water, Valtteri and Lewis talk in a low murmur between themselves, not wanting to appear as though they are listening in to what the guy from medical is saying. Even if they wanted to listen in, there wouldn’t really be a need for it anyway. While the coaches aren’t allowed to talk to or gesture to their athletes it’s impossible to miss the grimaces on the faces in Seb and Kimi’s box. _‘Recurring injury then,’_ Lewis mouths to him and Valtteri nods in agreement. 

It looks like they might just have a chance. 

As always, the medical break takes longer than the three minutes it’s supposed to. Even so, it’s not long until they are ready to play again. Kimi’s left ankle has been iced and then wrapped. Set 2 begins. 

Many people consider Sebastian and Kimi as the epitome of doubles pairs and when you look at the stats encapsulating all of their achievements- grand slam wins, olympic medals and so on, it’s hard to dispute that. 

While Valtteri has played against them before however, this is the first time Lewis has played against them. As the second set goes on, Lewis realises there are disadvantages to how in sync the pair are. Perhaps they could still do well with just Kimi struggling somewhat, but the caution in his movements seems to permeate their pairing. Rather than making up for Kimi’s reduction in pace with more movement around the court, Sebastian almost seems to notice his lagging reactions and match them. This change gives Lewis and Valtteri an opportunity which they quickly take advantage of. They take the set 6-2.

The momentum of the match has shifted and the pairs are at level pegging.

During a final, the crowd is always loud and boisterous, or as much as the crowd of a tennis match can be described in those terms anyway. Whenever there is a break, people in the crowd chat, causing a low excited murmur to fill the stadium. Even with absolutely no interest in the sport, it would be impossible to miss the tension in the air, especially with a Brit hanging on the verge of success, what could be one of the comeback stories of a lifetime.

As always, it feels like no time at all before the umpire calls for the resuming of the match and the crowd is subdued into silence. 

In the third set, almost every point is a long one and almost every shot is hit. For the most part, each of the pairs returns and returns and returns, constantly reaching the ball until finally someone hits it out or plays short and the ball catches the net. When the set reaches 6-6 there’s almost an inevitability to it. 

Kimi serves first in the tiebreak and he is hitting like a man possessed. Between the power of the shot and the wide angle, Valtteri has absolutely no chance. Lewis and Valtteri continue to play well, but Sebastian and Kimi simply play better, it feels like almost all of their shots are landing at impossible angles, scraping the outside lines, going straight down the middle between Valtteri and Lewis’ outstretched arms. The third set is over and the match is at 6-3, 2-6, 7-6. Valtteri and Lewis have fallen behind once more. 

During the break before the next set, Valtteri chances a glance at the opposing pair. Kimi’s face is blank which is far from unusual. What is unusual however is that Sebastian’s face is also blank, or at least he’s doing his best to make it so. Valtteri isn’t particularly close with the pair but he knows them well enough to recognise the emotion that the German is trying to hide- worry. Kimi is still in pain then and the injury is probably more serious than he made it out to be to the medic. 

The fourth set is called to start and Valtteri takes a deep breath to ready himself. 

They have a chance. 

Kimi’s injury is beginning to show in his play and the pair gradually begin to be punished for it. It’s apparent that they want each point to end as quickly as possible and this leads to mistakes. Double faults when serving, balls frequently going wide or long. 

The set goes to Valtteri and Lewis at 3-6 and the teams are level once more. 

This brings them to the fifth and final set of the men’s doubles final. 

While Valtteri could recount what happened in all of the other sets in fairly good detail, he could tell you absolutely nothing about this one. Each hit of the ball on the racket feels automatic and mindless, the way that only someone in the absolute top echelons of any sport can play. Of course it’s important to be aware of the score but it’s only somewhere at the very back of Valtteri’s mind that is keeping track. Enough that he knows when to serve, return, sit for breaks etc, but not enough that he can have an emotional reaction about whether they are ahead or behind. 

Normally when they are seated Lewis’s movements are calm and methodical. Now, whenever they go to switch sides, Lewis is thrumming with energy, as close as they are sitting to each other, Valtteri wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up vibrating off his seat. 

5 hours and 48 minutes. 

That’s how long it takes for the game to end. Valtteri barely comprehends what has happened when the ball sails from his racket and plants itself in the back- right hand corner of the other side of the court. Lewis kisses his cross and looks up to the sky, before raising his hands in thanks and in celebration. It’s only then that Valtteri drops to his knees in celebration, completely shocked and overwhelmed. They’ve actually done it.

Quickly the pair need to collect themselves. Lewis grabs Valtteri’s hand to haul him back up, their hands are slick with sweat but their grip is firm. They hug briefly but tightly, before walking over to the net to shake hands with their opponents.

Although Valtteri has been through this before, it’s as though his mind has gone blank. Between Lewis, press, official personnel, he is shepherded around, only remembering each stage of the process as they arrive at it.

They won, they really did win. Belatedly, Valtteri remembers to pinch himself. After doing so, he’s able to confirm that he is in fact awake.

The remainder of the day is filled with interviews, celebrations, and catching up with the other athletes, everyone too focused during the competition to really have a chance to hang out. Valtteri figured Lewis would go and do his own thing while they were out celebrating, the other man is in his home country after all and has a lot of friends, family and famous faces to celebrate with. Instead however, Lewis sticks to him like glue, constantly reminding everyone how good of a team they are, and a little voice in the back of Valtteri’s head tells him he could get used to this. 

They only separate so late that night, that it’s technically the next morning, they do so reluctantly, sharing a cab that winds up Valtteri’s place first. When they part, it’s with Lewis insisting that they have a break day from their diets and go out for an English breakfast. The Britton babbles on during the short taxi journey about a place that does a great proper Full English for Valtteri as well as a delicious vegan version for himself. 

If Valtteri is being honest, he’d rather spoil his diet on literally any other meal rather than breakfast. He’s gotten used to his morning routine over the years and eating anything heavier first thing just makes him feel ill nowadays. Lewis looks at him with an earnest pleading expression however, something Valtteri has never seen on his face. With the sense that the offer isn’t just about breakfast, Valtteri agrees. 

When Valtteri finally falls asleep that night, the birds are already chirping their morning songs, and he can’t help but wonder what on Earth it is that he’s gotten himself into. 

Only a few hours later, after a deep, but agonisingly short period of sleep, Valtteri finds himself sitting in a diner style restaurant. He’s not much of a breakfast person but he must admit that the food is pretty delicious. Himself and Lewis don’t chat much while eating, instead they simply sit quietly and enjoy each other's company. As Valtteri’s coffee slowly takes effect, he eventually notices the way his and Lewis’s legs are firmly pressed next to each other underneath the table, feet brushing gently together every so often. 

The US open is the next grand slam, just over a month away. They make plans for the event together, before Lewis starts talking about his hopes of getting back into singles the following year. It’s the first time Lewis’ talk of doing his own thing doesn’t make Valtteri’s chest ache. He’s beginning to understand now, that their partnership is more than simply a doubles pairing, or that it certainly could be more, if he decides that he wants it to be.

{}

They are both in a bathroom in New York, the bathroom of Lewis’ New York residence to be precise. Valtteri is sat on a dining chair that has been dragged through from the living area. He holds Lewis’ phone in his hand reluctantly, he has been put in charge of filming the live video. The front camera is switched on and Valtteri tries his best to keep it pointed at Lewis. The Britton grins at the camera cheerily, he has moved on from explaining exactly why Valtteri’s hair is being dyed hot pink and is now instructing any viewers cheerfully on how to go about using box hair dye. Valtteri occasionally responds to what Lewis is saying, but mostly just tries to forget exactly how many followers the other man has and ignore the little number box that says exactly how many of them are viewing this video. 

After the dye has been in his hair for long enough, Lewis wraps up the little Q&A they have been doing to wash out the excess dye from Vallteri’s hair. Valtteri tips his head into the shower and goes through the action as quickly as possible, trying not to think about the strangeness of people literally sitting watching him wash his hair. After a couple of minutes, Lewis passes him a black towel. It’s only after he’s dried his hair and the camera angles back towards him once more, that it dawns on Valtteri he’s seeing his hair at the exact same time as everyone who’s watching. 

Valtteri doesn’t know whether he hates it or not. His mouth is gaping as he runs his hands through his hair, shock overpowering any other feeling he might have about the change in colour. 

Lewis walks around him, giving the fans the full effect of the change in hair colour. 

‘It’s hot,’ the Britton comments, beaming at him.

A bunch of fangirls start squealing in the comments. The more time Valtteri has spent with Lewis, the more he learns about ‘shipping’ and ‘fan theories.’ 

Rather than figuring out an actual response to Lewis or the fans, Valtteri simply laughs. Internally, he feels like his reaction isn’t all that different to the fans, he can sense a blush rapidly forming and hopes that it can be easily blamed on the heat from washing his hair in the shower. 

Lewis does most of the work to sign off their video, with Valtteri pretty much just waving at the camera. At the request of a comment, he says their farewells in Finish and with that, Lewis ends the video. 

When the video ends, the two set about tidying the bathroom and moving everything back where it belongs quietly, allowing themselves a moment of peace and calmness which is always needed after doing something for fans. 

After the place has been tidied up, neither of them are quite sure what to say to break away from the quiet.

“How about if we win this one I’ll dye my hair like a rainbow? Although I do draw the line at using anything other than semi-permanent for that.”

Lewis stares at him in shock for a moment before letting out a startled laugh. 

“How about instead if we win, or hell no matter what round we finish up in, I’ll kiss you in front of the freaking world.”

Valtteri finds himself agreeing easily, an odd expression on his face that is a mixture of shock and glee. A million different thoughts and emotions run through his mind, excitement, nerves and every combination in between. 

As much as there is concerns in Valtteri’s mind, as much as he doesn’t know what is going to happen, he knows that he wants to be part of this sports change, and by Lewis’ side.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr at bottasvaltteri.  
> Kudos, opinions, comments always appreciated!  
> (I can confirm a Scottish person has just taken part in Andy Murray erasure)  
> \- also apologies for the ending I lowkey hate it but...


End file.
